Health Action Alliance to Unlock Power of Business in COVID Response

COVID-19, now with us for more than a year, has exposed deep vulnerabilities in our nation’s public health infrastructure. We’ve lost lives, intensified inequities and eroded years of progress across our economy. To help end the pandemic, the CDC Foundation is pleased to join with other partners to launch the Health Action Alliance (HAA) today. HAA will unlock the power of business to help accelerate the COVID-19 response, strengthen vaccine acceptance and rebuild public health.

The Alliance was created on the belief that health is everybody’s business, and businesses already have provided incredible support for the COVID-19 response. Looking ahead, it is imperative that businesses—large, small and mid-sized—all have access to the tools and resources needed to stop the spread of COVID-19 and return to work safely. That’s important because businesses, based on the trust they have from their employees, can play a vital role in helping us return to more normal times.

Recent research from Morning Consult shows that 71 percent of Americans trust their employer to make the right decision about when it’s safe to return to the office. HAA will empower a network of businesses to improve the health of employees and communities by promoting COVID-19 prevention and vaccine education and strengthen public health infrastructure to be better prepared in the future. The Alliance will also work to advance health equity by addressing the needs of disproportionately affected communities.

Specific resources available—at no cost to businesses—include:

• Tools to guide the development of COVID-19 vaccination policies and programs to educate workers about vaccines, encourage vaccine acceptance and reduce barriers to vaccination.
• Research-backed messaging, briefing materials and communications tools to strengthen employee and consumer outreach.
• Virtual events and training opportunities with health experts, scientists and communication professionals.
• Best practice public service campaigns and tested messages for key audiences.
• Dedicated tools and guidance for engaging and supporting communities of color and other groups that may have unique concerns or questions about vaccines.
• Resources and training opportunities for employee resource groups, communications teams, content creators and human resource professionals.
• Networking opportunities to share best business practices and lessons learned across the network.

The CDC Foundation is pleased to join with founding partners, including the Ad Council, Business Roundtable, the de Beaumont Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, to launch the Alliance. Learn more about the Health Action Alliance from the newly launched website (www.healthaction.org), get access to all of the resources and sign up for updates.